Thinking maybe the thief intended on going back and changing the shipping instructions after the fact. Seems like it was from a bunch of vendors, so unlikely he/she kept making the same mistake again and again.

I dunno, last time that happened to me, whoever bought all the sex toys had terrible taste. I mean, seriously, if you're going to step up for a vibrating heated pleasure rod with prostate tickler add-on, at leastspring for a name brand.

Oh, there you are, dear....uh, what? What stuff?...... Oh, right, all this stuff that was delivered....that's....that's not mine! No, no, my card must have been....uh... stolen, yeah, I wouldn't buy this.... this stuff. I guess the thief just...hah.... just forgot to change the shipping address....

I dunno, last time that happened to me, whoever bought all the sex toys had terrible taste. I mean, seriously, if you're going to step up for a vibrating heated pleasure rod with prostate tickler add-on, at leastspring for a name brand.

No kidding, I've heard nothing but bad things about those off brand prostate ticklers.

I got my card details stolen (no idea how, it's usually in my wallet in my pocket, and it's a card I've never used online) and received dozens of mid-range silver jewelry pieces. It was only after 5 or 6 that one came with a bill with ther last 4 digits of my card on and I even realised it was something criminal going on, and not just an insane ex-lover. all from different, random stores.

I have no idea what the scam was. I presumed that they'd just not changed the billing address. Nothing else was taken. Mmmmm, cheap jewelry.

How can people avoid getting their credit card number stolen? It isn't easy, he said. He suggests making sure that online purchases are done on a secure site (the web address will start with "https"), and watching cards when making purchases at a business.

Or you can do what I do and use a Citibank Mastercard that lets you generate unique virtual account numbers online. They expire in a month and can only be used for one purchase. If someone attempts to use a number that you've already used, you'll know exactly which merchant let it leak.

When my son was still living in Texas, I took him to the mall, to buy him a pair of high-end sports shoes. I gave the clerk the card, not noticing he took the card to the back. Before I got home, I was getting calls from my C company, asking me if I made orders from places like Fashionbug, Bluenile, etc. I told them I hardly use that card. They gave me a new card, and denied those purchases. So, I was out nothing, but paid off the bill and canceled the card shortly after. If you're going to steal CC numbers for a few bucks to pay your bills, get a better job.

I had a card company call me a few years back asking if I had just made a $4000 online order for tools and building materials from some outfit I had never heard of in a state across the country from me. I said no and they stopped the order from going out. This was a card I had only used once in the past 18 months, so I knew just which crappy little online mom-and-pop bookstore was responsible. Too bad for the thief he got greedy. If he had charged smaller sums across multiple merchants he might have gotten some stuff before getting shut down.

In all fairness, if you change the address then the cops can find you pretty easily. Gotta order from the normal address and then do something clever, like call in by phone and get the address changed while it's in transit or sign the person up for mail forwarding with UPS to a PO box or something.

Jim_Callahan:In all fairness, if you change the address then the cops can find you pretty easily. Gotta order from the normal address and then do something clever, like call in by phone and get the address changed while it's in transit or sign the person up for mail forwarding with UPS to a PO box or something.

...or just follow the tracking information and steal it off the porch while they are at work.

Thief bought a few thousand dollars of snowboard gear, a shiatload of booze, gas and $500 at a grocery store before the card maxed out. Declined transaction at Future Shop ended his fun shopping spree.

I must be missing something obvious, but where exactly are these vendors with the "don't ask me for shipping info. Just ship to the credit card owner's address" option? If I ordered something from Target.com right now, they'd have no idea where to ship it unless I told them.

I dunno, last time that happened to me, whoever bought all the sex toys had terrible taste. I mean, seriously, if you're going to step up for a vibrating heated pleasure rod with prostate tickler add-on, at leastspring for a name brand.

No kidding, I've heard nothing but bad things about those off brand prostate ticklers.

jjorsett:How can people avoid getting their credit card number stolen? It isn't easy, he said. He suggests making sure that online purchases are done on a secure site (the web address will start with "https"), and watching cards when making purchases at a business.

Or you can do what I do and use a Citibank Mastercard that lets you generate unique virtual account numbers online. They expire in a month and can only be used for one purchase. If someone attempts to use a number that you've already used, you'll know exactly which merchant let it leak.

Tourney3p0:I must be missing something obvious, but where exactly are these vendors with the "don't ask me for shipping info. Just ship to the credit card owner's address" option? If I ordered something from Target.com right now, they'd have no idea where to ship it unless I told them.

Target must be the exception because every website I've been to has that option.

BTW, I can't seem to copy anything from the story.

I don't understand the line from Susie about someone being out of pocket needing to get their money back. Wasn't it her/her husband's money and wasn't it replaced by the credit union?

Tourney3p0:I must be missing something obvious, but where exactly are these vendors with the "don't ask me for shipping info. Just ship to the credit card owner's address" option? If I ordered something from Target.com right now, they'd have no idea where to ship it unless I told them.

There are a lot of vendors for high value items who will *only* ship to an address that matches a billing address.

Target knows your billing address. How do you thing they check your card details' veracity? If you pay with a card, any card, that vendor has access to your billing address.